The Police Department says police body camera is committed to outfitting officers with body cameras, and on Monday said that a company had been chosen to supply up to 5,000 over the next five years. But a contract has yet to be signed, and a rollout of the cameras would not begin for months.

While body-worn cameras were quickly hailed as a tool to foster police accountability, some civil rights activists and technology experts say they are more concerned with the policies that police departments develop regarding use of the cameras than the speed with which officers start wearing them.

The halting pace of its effort is striking for an agency that has pledged to make itself a model of technology-driven policing and a leader in improving police-community relations.